It's the worst when Bootsie Barker comes to my house. Bootsie's the one who pulls my hair and tears my books. She hates Charlene, my pet salamander. She says that I'm a turtle and she's a turtle-eating dinosaur.

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Product Description

From Publishers Weekly

"My mother and Bootsie Barker's mother are best friends," begins the diminutive narrator of this uproariously illustrated story. Bootsie stops short of actually biting, but she bares her teeth in a gleeful lethal grin as the daily mom-and-daughter visit begins. Wearing her broad-brimmed black hat and wickedly pointy hot-pink boots, Bootsie ignores all injunctions to "play nicely, girls!" She pretends to be a hungry dinosaur, tears up her timid host's book about turtles and knocks over an aquarium housing Charlene the salamander. Alas, the girls' parents are blind to Bootsie's malevolence and plan an overnight stay; the narrator, certain that she and Charlene will be "rushed to the hospital with dinosaur bites," confides her fears to her mother, whose calm response plants the germ of an idea. The next day the beleaguered heroine thinks fast and gives Bootsie a witty comeuppance. Bottner ( Let Me Tell You Everything ) smoothly adopts the understandably anxious child's point of view, while Rathmann ( Ruby the Copycat ) contributes formidable, hyper-bright watercolors that echo the story's nightmarish but hilarious exaggeration. Ages 4-8. Copyright 1992 Reed Business Information, Inc.
--This text refers to the
Hardcover
edition.

From School Library Journal

Kindergarten-Grade 3-- As in Bottner's Mean Maxine (Pantheon, 1980; o.p.) and Zoo Song (Scholastic, 1989), the theme of this book is about finding ways for very different people to resolve conflicts without bloodshed. A mismatched duo, Bootsie and the narrator are thrown together because of their mothers' friendship. Underneath Bootsie's bouncy blond hair, frilly dress, and ribboned straw hat lies the heart of a tyrant. The moment adults clear the room, the sweet smile turns into a sneer and the real child emerges. She becomes a vicious dinosaur intent on devouring her playmate. The narrator's mother gives neither comfort nor protection, so the little girl decides to beat the bully at her own game--with humorous, successful results. The story may be somewhat slight, but it will certainly be appreciated by all children forced to deal with Jekyll-and-Hyde playmates. The colorful cartoon and wash drawings, filled with amusing detail, perfectly express the terroristic tactics and the narrator's frustration. When Bootsie is on a rampage, even the stuffed animals cover their eyes. A book that treats a common and often troubling situation with an entertaining but effective touch. --Heide Piehler, Shorewood Public Library, WICopyright 1993 Reed Business Information, Inc.
--This text refers to the
Hardcover
edition.

Most helpful customer reviews

Bootsie Barker Bites tells the familiar tale of the uncongenial playmate, but it provides a much les conventional, and much more satisfying, ending. The story is interesting, funny, and encompasses a useful lesson about coping with mean kids.The narrator of Bootsie Barker Bites hates playing with Bootsie, but she has to, because Bootsie's mother is her mother's best friend. Bootsie is mean - she treats the narrator very badly, breaks her toys, tries to hurt her pet lizard, and claims she is a dinosaur who will eat the narrator right up. The narrator grits her teeth and bears it until she discovers Bootsie will be staying at her house for the night; then she thinks up a plan that turns the tables on her unpleasant playmate.Most authors would have forced an unrealistic but ultrasweet ending from this plot by having Bootsie and the narrator become friends. Barbara Bottner knows that isn't how real life usually works, so she provides a different ending. Bootsie doesn't change; the narrator's ability to cope with Bootsie changes. In addition to being thoroughly satisfying, this ending gives kids a small, easy lesson on dealing with difficult people.The illustrations in the book are energetic and fun. The artist has done an excellent job of making Bootsie look like the archetypal evil toddler. And the small details of the pictures - the toy turtle on every page, the changing expressions of the stuffed animals, etc. - help hold kids' attention and make the book fun to reread.Overall, this is a solidly entertaining children's book that contains, but not does not force, a message. Bootsie Barker Bites is fun for reading out loud or privately; kids enjoy it, and so do adults.

My three-year-old daughter was horrified by the artwork and the scary Bootsie Barker. She is seen tearing a book, then terrorizing a little girl, then holding her hand over the little girl's mouth so she can't yell for help! Pulling her by the hair, throwing her pet salamander, pinning her to the floor by stepping on her and pulling her braid while her face is smashed into the floor! I have yet to find the humor here....HOW is this funny? And how does this little girl eventually cope with this bully? She threatens her back!! NOT the example I want to teach my child. (By the way, where was the mother when all this behavior was taking place?) This book will NEVER be read again in my home! I am astonished at the previous high reviews!

Whenever I read this story to a group of children, I'm a librarian, they're on the edge of their seats waiting for the next horror from Bootsie. Everyone knows a Bootsie, has been a Bootsie, or lives with a Bootsie sibling. The ending is satisfying in that Bootsie doesn't reform but her victim uses her intelligence to solve her problem. (With some help from mom) A good read-aloud and a wonderful story.

I'm not sure who was more entertained, my kids or me. Funny, yet full of teaching points about manners, behavior and getting along with others. My kids loved it so much, I bought copies for my brother and sister-in-law who are both elementary school teachers for their personal library.Highly recommended to anyone and everyone who has preschoolers and older...